Play Book Tag discussion

Lara Prior-Palmer, a quirky British teenager who had recently graduated from high school, but is not yet ready to move to the next step is searching for something adventurous and entertaining to do to fill the gap when she lands upon the Mongol Derby a1000 kilometer(621 Mile) race that replicates Genghis Khan's message system. The riders must change out their horses every 40 kms at stations, and the horse is checked to make sure its heart rate comes down quickly to 64 BPM or the rider is penalized.

Lara is a fairly good rider, but had not been a commited rider and never has she been an endurance rider as this race demanded.

As with any memoir the reader needs to adjust to the personality of the rider. Lara says about herself:

What was it that kept them all from trusting me—not with the keys, the cars, the dogs? Nor with time? The not trusting meant bits missing. Lara’s got bits missing. She’s not fully here. She’s a clock without some numbers, a clock who forgets to tick. I trusted myself a little at least, suspecting the missing bits were waiting for me somewhere. Certainly I had felt flashes when I went to get those chickens from Dorset on the train. Ticktocks sounding out in my core.

I was at first hesitant in developing an affinity to her style but as the book went on and as she changed with the race, I began to appreciate her.

I really appreciated that while she was only semi-aware of the culture and history of Mongolia and the race, that she did the requisite research for writing the book and I actually learned quite a bit about Mongolia by the end of the book.

I really enjoyed my ride through Mongolia with Lara and finished the book in one day.

If you are perhaps interested in this race here are two sites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_...
And about this years winner a 70 year old man:
https://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoo...

This book has been highly acclaimed and if you like this sort of thing I recommend it.

Wow! Who knew? Not me actually! I wish I could ride a horse for that long, this would go on my bucket list!

Joanne wrote: "Wow! Who knew? Not me actually! I wish I could ride a horse for that long, this would go on my bucket list!"

It sounds like a lot of fun, but grueling at the same time. Iam afraid I am to old(even though a 70 year old won this year. and unfit to do it. Half the entrants do not complete the race.

I'm fascinated by it.

Never heard of this race before, it sounds interesting!

annapi wrote: "Never heard of this race before, it sounds interesting!"

It certainly does. The race is very strict and riders can only ride from I think 8:30am to 830pm. If they are not at a station by 8:30pm they are forced to sleep either outside or ask a family in a yurt or gert if they can sleep at their house. Lara did that at least twice.

Booknblues wrote: "Lara Prior-Palmer, a quirky British teenager who had recently graduated from high school, but is not yet ready to move to the next step is searching for something adventurous and ..."

Her analysis about trust and being a clock without numbers was fascinating, and makes me want to root for her. I wonder if some of those phrases are common in Britain, or unique to her and her family. One member of my family is what we call "time challenged" but I don't know where that came from.

NancyJ wrote: "Her analysis about trust and being a clock without numbers was fascinating, and makes me want to root for her. I wonder if some of those phrases are common in Britain, or unique to her and her family.."

She is a bit quirky and the sort of kid who does things one might call acting out. She was out of her element and not entirely sure what she had got herself into and yet Lara soldiered on at a steady pace without wasting her horses.